Links to every day-by-day page in a calendar format spanning 31 August 1803 to 26 September 1806. A page every day!
Category: Day-by-Day
January 10, 1803
President Thomas Jefferson asks James Monroe to negotiate a solution to the Spanish closure of the port of New Orleans to American commercial traffic. Their plan is to acquire the port from France.
January 11, 1803
In response to the closure of New Orleans to American commercial traffic, President Jefferson’s plan to acquire the lower territory along the Mississippi River is read to the U.S. Senate.
January 12, 1803
In Washington City, President Jefferson writes the commission appointing Robert Livingston and James Monroe to negotiate a cession of land in the lower Mississippi and eastward toward Florida.
January 18, 1803
In Washington City, Meriwether Lewis delivers President Thomas Jefferson’s confidential message to the U.S. Congress proposing that they fund an expedition to the Western ocean.
January 19, 1803
From Fort Fayette, Capt. Stoddard writes a letter to Col. Burbeck asking for further orders. Those orders would be to establish a fort on the Mississippi to support Jefferson’s western expeditions.
January 20, 1803
In Washington City, President Jefferson’s request to fund the expedition to the Western Ocean is referred to a three-member Senate committee that includes George Logan—an ardent supporter.
January 23, 1803
In Washington City, President Jefferson writes about mammoths, the physiognotrace, and Charles Willson Peale’s Museum collection—theories and technologies that influenced the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
January 24, 1803
In Washington City, President Jefferson proposes that the United States moor a ship opposite New Orleans to act as a temporary customs house until a solution to the port’s closure can be arranged.
January 27, 1803
In response to President Jefferson’s confidential request of 18 January, a Congressional committee recommends a bill to appropriate $2500 to fund what would become known as the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
January 31, 1803
In Washington City, the Spanish minister to the United States writes an update on the progress of President Jefferson’s proposal to send an expedition to the Pacific ocean—an act Spain opposes.
February 2, 1803
In Washington City, President Jefferson nominates William Henry Harrison to a second term as governor of the Illinois Territory. He would give the list to his secretary—Meriwether Lewis.
February 3, 1803
President Jefferson writes the U.S. envoy in Paris telling him that ministers will be sent to negotiate a peaceful solution to the New Orleans closure—an effort resulting in the Louisiana Purchase.
February 5, 1803
James Madison summarizes Spain’s request that he do something about the militants from Kentucky who are organizing to open the port of New Orleans by force. The Louisiana Purchase would ultimately result.
February 7, 1803
Pennsylvania Governor Thomas McKean asks President Thomas Jefferson to find a Federal appointment for Thomas Rodney, who would parallel and intersect with Lewis’s travel down the Ohio next fall.
February 8, 1803
President Jefferson recommends that any unauthorized groups intent on opening the port of New Orleans by force be arrested. The peaceful solution would be the Louisiana Purchase.
February 11, 1803
In Washington City, President Jefferson writes a letter of credence granting the powers of a full ambassador to James Monroe and Robert Livingston. The two would negotiate Louisiana’s purchase.
February 14, 1803
In Washington City, Senator James Ross raises his Mississippi Question regarding the closure of New Orleans. Ultimately, an answer will be needed before the Western Expedition can begin.
February 15, 1803
In Washington City, President Jefferson urges the War Department to negotiate for Native Nation lands in the Illinois and Mississippi Territories before France assumes control of New Orleans and Louisiana.
February 16, 1803
In Washington City, Senator James Ross of Pennsylvania resumes his “Mississippi Question” speech recommending military action to end the Spanish closure of New Orleans to American navigators.
Discover More
- The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Day by Day by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2018). The story in prose, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
- The Lewis and Clark Journals: An American Epic of Discovery (abridged) by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2003). Selected journal excerpts, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
- The Lewis and Clark Journals. by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 1983–2001). The complete story in 13 volumes.
This site is provided as a public service by the
Lewis and Clark Trail Alliance
with cooperation and funding from the following organizations:
- Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
- Montana Committee for the Humanities
- Idaho Governor's Lewis and Clark Trail Committee
- The Capital Gallery (Lewis and Clark Fort Mandan Foundation)
- Yellowstone Public Radio
Unless otherwise noted, journal excerpts are from The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, edited by Gary E. Moulton, 13 vols. (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1983-2001).